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Friday, January 4, 2013

Sepia Saturday: Happy New Year!

Sepia Saturday challenges
bloggers to share family history through old photographs.

This week’s Sepia Saturday prompt featuring Scottish
troops celebrating the New Year at their billet hut in France during World War
I makes me realize how calm my own New Year celebrations have always been. As the poster child for “Morning People,” I’ve
always struggled to stay awake watching television to see the ball drop in Times
Square.

When my sister and I were kids, we looked forward to
December 31 for one reason:
sparklers. Our grandparents
bought them and lit them for us. Holding
one sparkler in each hand, we watched them sizzle and pop. We’d draw designs against the night sky with
the little “jet stream” emitted by moving the sparkler really fast. Before the fire went out, we’d throw the
sparklers in the air. Often they got
lost in the grass until the next day or until spring when the lawn mower would
find them.

For several years, New Year’s Eve always meant my sister
Mary Jollette would have her friend Gail over for the night. It became a tradition for awhile. They
enjoyed the sparklers too. Sometimes
they played games.

It looks like I was off to a good start buying up
properties around the Monopoly board.
For some reason, I liked the railroads and utilities.

What is Gail pouring into that beer stein?

One year they went into the attic and found some of my
old clothes. They had a grand time
trying them on.

I actually remember that polka dot dress Gail is modeling,
but I have no idea what that plaid sailor number is
that Mary Jollette found. That salute! Good grief!

Do we know how to bring in the New Year right or what? I wish you all the happiest of new years!

Please visit Sepia Saturday to see how others are
bringing in the New Year.

Hey Jana. I'm around, just in a "what should I write" slump. Plus I've been at our lake house this past week without access to any of my genealogy stuff. But I'm very excited about some of the ideas gleaned from your Friday Finds. I can hardly wait to get writing again.

Hello Wendy, what a wonderful reminder of maybe my most happiest New Year's Celebrations. That was our favorite family and friends board game and still is! Just looking at the happiness in those photos really make me rethink our plans for next year. Thanks for the sweet old time memories, when it was so darn fun!!!!

Crickey! That's a bottle of Drambuie being emptied into the beer stein. We were playing board games this New Years Eve - but were in bed before midnight as my daughter had to catch a plane next day back to the USA.

It was indeed fun to look back on those early New Years celebrations, which I would not have done had it not been for the Sepia Saturday prompt. I love how Bob's identification of the Drambuie made me remember a little detail I had long forgotten.

Hi Wendy, what a grand post! I have trouble staying awake too. I think that I went to bed at 9:30 this year, not even bothering to make an attempt.

About 12 years ago, I lived in a neighborhood who had some darned good fireworks on New Years Eve. I went to the dollar store and got a bunch of those "poppers" and other fireworks to give to the kids. That was one of my most fun New Years Eve celebrations ever.

Yes, 8 years. Here is the story of how she came to be: http://jollettetc.blogspot.com/2012/07/sepia-saturday-and-here-comes-wendy.htmlYou commented but have forgotten. Go ahead and refresh your memory - you never know when there might be a quiz. HA!

It sounds like you did New Year's just right. I long ago gave up on it and quietly went to bed knowing I'd be awakened by fireworks or stupid gunfire. What goes up must come down, but those who shoot guns in the air in celebration apparently never heard of physics.

I loved playing Monopoly but not everyone in my family shared my enthusiasm as they didn't want to get involved in a game that could drag on for hours. Thanks for sharing your stories and family pictures!

I've been terrified of sparklers my entire life, something my Mother instilled in me. When she was a young child somehow she dropped a lit one in her shoe and burned her foot. She managed to terrify me that somehow something terrible would happen to me if I ever held one and to this day I never have! My grandchildren came over last 4th of July and wouldn't you know it my son let them hold lit sparklers - I nearly had a heart attack, but of course had to keep my mouth shut!

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About Me

My name is Wendy. About twenty years ago, I helped my mother research the Jolletts. Since retiring from teaching, I have expanded my research which I share here. When I’m not looking for my own family, I index for FamilySearch and the Greene County Historical Society.
Welcome to Jollett Etc. Please leave a comment to let me know you were here. If you have more information or believe we are related, EMAIL ME at wendymath at cox dot net